Cardiovascular evaluation, including resting and exercise ECG, before participation in competitive sports

By: Francesco Sofi, clinical researcher, Andrea Capalbo, specialist in sports medicine et al, University of Florence, Italy.
BMJ, 3 July 2008

Participants: 30 065 (23 570 men) people seeking to obtain clinical eligibility for competitive sports.

Exercise ECG showed cardiac anomalies in 1227 athletes with normal findings on resting ECG. At the end of screening, 196 (0.6%) participants were considered ineligible for competitive sports.

Follow-up studies are needed to show if disqualification of such people would reduce the incidence of CV events among athletes.

(Age >30 years was significantly associated with an increased risk of being disqualified for cardiac findings during exercise testing.)

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ORGANISED MARATHONS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF SUDDEN DEATH

BMJ 21 December 2007;

Organised marathons are not associated with an increased risk of sudden death, despite the media attention they attract. In fact, marathons lower the risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes that might otherwise have taken place if the roads had not been closed

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